UFC 286 predictions: Who are experts picking to win the trilogy between Kamaru Usman and Leon Edwards?

UFC 286 will see Leon Edwards attempt to defend his title for the first time against the man he took it from, Kamaru Usman, in an epic trilogy fight.

The pair first met in 2015, at UFC on Fox 17, where Usman defeated 'Rocky' via a unanimous decision. Edwards evened the score last year with a headkick knockout in the dying minutes of round five.

Given the dramatic finish to their previous bout, the trilogy fight is highly anticipated. Predictions from both experts and fighters have flooded the internet, and many believe that the UFC 286 main event will be a close fight.

PFL analyst and former UFC title challenger Kenny Florian believes that Leon Edwards will successfully defend his title. On a recent episode of the Anik & Florian Podcast with UFC commentator Jon Anik, Florian said this:

"I am going with Leon Edwards to win this fight. Not an easy pick for me, I wouldn't be surprised to see Kamaru win this one. But I think we have a different guy in Leon Edwards."

Watch the video below from 58:20:

Popular MMA breakdown channel The Weasel shared his thoughts on this weekend's pay-per-view main event, and believes that Kamaru Usman will regain the title:

"I am going to go with Kamaru Usman, and by fifth-round TKO via ground-and-pound."

Watch the video below from 24:35:

Former two-division UFC champion Henry Cejudo shared his thoughts on the bout and stated the following:

"I've got to go with Kamaru Usman winning by decision. Do I want [Usman] to pound [Edwards] into another world? 100%... [But] These guys are a mirror [of one another] in different ways, but they can't finish each other."

Watch the video below from 4:30:

Featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski believes that the UFC 286 main will be "totally different" to the previous bout between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. 'The Great' uploaded his breakdown video to YouTube and said this:

"There's a few things that'll make this fight totally different. I'm saying [that] even thought Leon won. I feel like it's gonna be much different, so I think I'm gonna lean towards Leon."

Watch the video below from 10:30:

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Dana White says UFC 286 is the biggest MMA card in UK history

UFC president Dana White recently stated that the UFC 286 card headlined by Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman is the biggest MMA fight in UK history. The bout will take place in London, England, and 'Rocky' will head into the fight with a hometown advantage.

The previous fight card that took place on English soil was UFC Fight Night 204 in March 2022. Both last year's card and UFC 286 share the same venue, The O2 Arena, but the total gate for this weekend's PPV card is almost double that of UFC Fight Night 204.

White recently spoke to former UFC fighter Stefan Struve and said this:

"Yeah definitely [the biggest fight ever]... The gate is up to like $9 million, I think the biggest gate [in the UK] before this was $4.6 [million]."

Watch the interview below from 0:30 mark: